Coolidge Corner Restaurant To Reopen After Makeover

BROOKLINE, MA — A Coolidge Corner restaurant that closed in April for renovations is set to reopen Saturday.

Prairie Fire restaurant, owned by the team behind Steel & Rye in Milton and known for its wood-fired cooking, has undergone a makeover the past two months and is set to reopen with its new look and new menu, according to owner Dan Kerrigan.

Kerrigan and Chef Brendan Joy, whos is also a partner, have brought on Executive Chef Andrew Iacono and tapped longtime Boston industry veteran Ricky Czachor of Eastern Standard and Island Creek Oyster Bar to serve as general manager.

Plans are in motion for a backyard Beer Garden, set to open later this summer.

"Prairie Fire has been a mainstay in Brookline since opening in 2017, but we wanted to make it even more special and deepen the ways in which it serves the community," Kerrigan said in a statement. "We have accomplished that from front to back of house in the last few months. We are so fortunate to have Andrew Iacono collaborating with Brendan Joy; their extensive, combined experience in Michelin starred restaurants translates directly to the menu."

The restaurant seats 60 guests and its redesign offers "cozy banquette" seating, as well as 18 bar seats, four of which can be reserved for a prime view of the wood-fired oven.

Joy and Iacono have crafted a new menu that continues to fire everything from crisp hand-tossed pizzas to local veggies to New England oysters in the wood-fired oven, using kiln dried New England oak and maple wood to emphasize flavor.

Ingredients are sourced from New England farms, including Crown Roots Farm in Oxford, whose owner was previously a member of the Prairie Fire team; Kitchen Garden Farms of Sunderland, and Pete’s Greens of Craftsbury, VT.

Look for housemade sourdough bread served with cultured butter and a Farm Greens Salad with whipped ricotta, summer vegetables and whey vinaigrette, or Grilled Squid Salad with sourdough croutons, asparagus, purple daikon, and fresno chile and the Tomatoes Carpaccio drizzled in a tomato water and herb toasted kombu oil and tossed with a sunflower crumble.

The restaurant will also have handmade pastas such as the Spaghetti with Duxbury Clams, green garlic soubise and pickled green garlic. Other standouts include English Pea and Ricotta Agnolotti, black pepper, and pea greens and Ditalini Pasta with dandelion green, fava beans and parmesan vegetable broth, according to the restaurant.

The restaurant also has an extensive dessert menu and beverage program.

Find Prairie Fire at 242 Harvard Street. It is open 4:30pm-10pm Tuesday through Sunday. Pizza is served until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays.